Pakistan will once again have two Eids, as the self-proclaimed Ruet-e-Hilal Committee of Masjid Qasim Ali Khan on Monday announced to celebrate Eid today (Tuesday) in the light of the moon sighting testimonies from several areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, after which the provincial government also announced celebrating Eid today, taking into account the ‘testimonies’.
Shahabuddin Popalzai, the chief cleric, claimed to make the decision in light of 25 witnesses received from “all over the provinces”. However, the official Ruet-e-Hilal Committee will meet today in Karachi for the purpose. Later in the evening, KP Information Minister Shaukat Yousafzai made the announcement regarding celebrating Eid, saying the decision had been made by Chief Minister Mahmood Khan. The minister said the government received a number of testimonies for Shawwal moon sighting from the erstwhile Federal Administrative Tribal Areas (FATA).
Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry announced to open all 66 sites of the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) for public to sight the Shawwal moon.
Fawad tweeted the list of all 66 Met Office sites for public to witness the moon themselves, urging people to use the scientific facilities.
He said that a few of the facilities were modern, whereas others were basics. However, he said his ministry wanted the people to trust science and modern technology rather than a few individuals.
According to the PMD, the birth of the moon occurred at 03:02pm on Monday and its age would be four hours and sixteen minutes at sunset. “The moon will be 28 hours and 16 minutes old at sunset in Karachi on Tuesday,” the department said in a statement.
It said the moon would remain on the horizon for one hour after the sunset on June 4, and moon sighting was expected on Tuesday across the country, including Peshawar.
On the other hand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Shaukat Yousafzai suggested in a video the appointment of Mufti Popalzai as chairman of the moon sighting committee, replacing Mufti Muneeb, to end the controversial moon sighting issue.
The minister can be heard in the video saying, “Eid is celebrated on one day all over Pakistan except a distinct area of KP… we should stop this from happening.”
“Mufti Popalzai has claimed moon sighting and his claims have proven true a few times. In my understanding, Mufti Muneebur Rehman should be rested for a while and Mufti Popalzai should be made the head of the moon sighting committee,” he said. “I advise this so that Pakistan may have one Eid and begin and end religious occasions on an agreed [upon] day rather than having clashes and difference of opinion.”
Mufti Muneeb was taken on call for his opinion on the subject, in which he said, “Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai can’t be enrolled in the government, but what can be done is that the government can be given under his control so that everything that faces delay in the regime can be done beforehand… 24 hours before the deadlines.” Shaukat Yousafzai was also taken online for his take on the situation, to which the minister said, “It was said in a lighter mood and was not meant to be taken seriously/, I said it jokingly.” When asked about the Ruet App that the Ministry of Science and Technology had recently launched in an effort to curb the moon sighting controversy, Yousafzai jokingly added that he did not mind if “Mufti Fawad” was added to the mix of moon sighting candidates. Yousafzai emphasized that the conflict had caused undue duress in the KP region, where an unneeded confusion takes over on religious occasions.
Meanwhile, the Saudi Supreme Court announced on Monday that Eidul Fitr celebrations will begin in the Kingdom today (Tuesday).
The Shawwal crescent moon was visible from some parts of the Kingdom on Monday evening, meaning Eid will begin the following day.
The court on Saturday called on all Muslims throughout Saudi Arabia to try and spot the crescent on Monday evening.
The UAE, Kuwait and other Gulf countries will all celebrate Eid today, with Ramazan ending on Monday and bringing a close to a month of fasting between sunrise and sunset.
In Indonesia, Pakistan, Australia and other Asian countries, no crescent moon was sighted, so Eid will begin on Wednesday, Arab News reported.
On the occasion of Eidul Fitr, King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sent cables of congratulations to leaders of Islamic countries around the world.
